Womens Equality: League of Women Voters to host equality celebration

The Tyler-Smith County League of Women Voters will be holding its annual Womenâ€™s Equality Day Celebration from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 26 .

The event will be held at the Grand Piano Bar & Supper Club at 5524 Old Jacksonville Highway in Tyler and is open to all members of the league and those interested in joining.

The league hosts this event each year to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

â€śOur goal is to gather members and supporters together to re-emphasize the importance of Womenâ€™s Equality Day,â€ť LWV president Mary Claire Rowe said. â€śWeâ€™re living in a time of unprecedented attacks on legislation that makes voting fair for all people, and it is our solemn responsibility to protect the right of all citizens to vote.â€ť

According to the league, the celebration also will show â€śhow the woman suffrage struggle ties to voting right issues of today,â€ť as well as give local voters a chance to â€śsupport the men and women who work now to ensure widespread votingâ€ť and â€śenjoy an evening with other community leaders committed to making democracy work.â€ť

At the dinner, the league also will be honoring Shirley Hightower with the LWV Making Democracy Work Award.

â€śShirley Hightower is our voting registration chairwoman,â€ť Ms. Rowe said. â€śShe is a cornerstone of the works the league has done here in Tyler. She is in charge of helping to register new citizens after they have gone through the naturalization process.â€ť

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization, dedicated to raising voter turnout and providing unbiased facts for votersâ€™ education.

Reservations must be made by Aug. 24, though Ms. Rowe warns that space is limited, and the dinner is often sold out long before that date. To RSVP, email maryclairerowe@gmail.com, or call 903-581-7158.